Endless Light    Endless Light by Natasha

  

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 Endless Light 

 Natasha (Basha) Drama 

 Well hello everyone. I've been away for ages and have been lost without
all your wonderful stories! I've finally got up to date and would like to
post my story. It takes considerable explanation so bear with me. I had
the idea in Oct but only put it down in paper recently. This was for my
best friend (unfortunately not a DS fan -no ones perfect !) Any way she
loved it and wanted more. The idea started as a way to explain who Steve
(North) is but kind of got away from me. Anyway the story was meant to be
about this and to clear up a continuity error from BITH that said BF had
been shot in the leg before (my thanks to Elyse for unwittingly giving me
that idea) but some evil bunnies got in my head and... I would greatly
appreciate ALL comments complimentary or critical as this is the first
piece of proper fiction I've written. 

 It should probably be rated PG13 for some mention of violence, drug
addiction and bad language (nothing you don't hear on DS.) 

 Oh and the Disclaimer: The lines in Sphere are from Bryan Adams song 'The
only thing that looks good on me is you'. I'm sorry I borrowed the
characters but some fool left them lying around. Its not worth suing me.
Apart from the DS characters the story and Anna are mine. If when its
finished you want to post it to the DS fiction archives feel free. Anyone
else wants to mess around with it, ask me first! 

 So without further ado.. 

 Basha 

 ENDLESS LIGHT Natasha 

 THE WORLD Henry Vaughan 

 I saw Eternity the other night Like a great ring of pure and endless
light, All calm as it was bright, And round beneath it, Time in hours,
days, years Driv'n by the spheres Like a vast shadow moved; in which the
world And all her train were hurled. 

 Wild Flower 

 Perhaps this had been a terrible mistake, after all it had been a long
time since she'd seen him. Following what had happened things had been
more than a little strained. Anna sighed and looked down at her shaking
hands. This was worse than all the exams in the world. She suddenly longed
for a simple life again, going to school, playing with her friends in the
snow... him. Even now, years later she missed him, the friend and
confident who had been like a big brother, who'd stood by her... saved her
life. 

 *Pull yourself together Anna.* Still if it hadn't been for this job offer
she wouldn't have been here facing her demons. Why Chicago of all places?
Of course in the part of her mind where she was being completely honest
she was glad it was here. Maybe this was a second chance. It was an escape
of sorts too, a place to runaway but she couldn't admit that, especially
not to herself. 

 If he'd actually been at his home then Anna wouldn't have had all this
time to worry and get nervous. But no! She'd been on a route march via the
27th Precinct and now she was at the Consulate and he wasn't here either.
*Someone somewhere is definitely trying to tell me this is a horrible
mistake.* Voices downstairs intruded on her thoughts. By the sounds of it
they were those of Detective Ray Vecchio and Constable Benton Fraser
involved in a somewhat heated discussion. The Detective was shouting at
the Constable about how disgusting it was to taste vegetable leaves that
were found on the floor of a Supermarket. 

 "I can't believe you put some filthy lettuce leaf in your mouth! You've
just gotta stop eating things off of the floor before you catch the
plague!" 

 "Well actually Ray it would depend which plague you were alluding too.
For example the bubonic plague was caused by the bite of a rat flea which
was infected with the Pasteurella pestis bacterium and I most
certainly..." 

 "Shut up Fraser! I don't care. All I'm saying is that tasting lettuce
leaves is not the way to track a thief that only stole a coupla tins of
soup." 

 "But that's not how I found him. I simply asked the checkout girl if she
knew the thief and if she might know of his possible whereabouts." 

 By this point they were almost at the office door and Anna was rapidly
looking for likely escape routes. She'd decided on the fire escape but was
having difficulty getting her legs to go along with the plan. In fact she
was having to cling onto the desk just to keep upright and her stomach was
obviously enjoying a roller coaster ride to judge by the way it was
feeling. She finally gave up on the losing battle with her legs and turned
to face the door just as it opened to reveal the two men. 

 They both stopped and looked at her obviously awaiting an explanation of
who this trembling wreck was. Anna took a deep breath, there was no escape
now, and spoke. 

 "Hello Ben..." 

 

 Ray Vecchio was looking at her interestedly and Ben, well Ben was looking
a little shocked. He had also become rather pale. *Yep, definitely a
mistake! Should have phoned first, given him some warning.* Unable to
stand the uncomfortable silence any longer she spoke up. 

 "Long time no see, eh Ben?" 

 *Did I really just say that? Oh yeah that has to go down in the history
books as a great opening line. Well done Anna you've got great style.*
Anna got a grip on herself deciding now was not the time to debate on the
why and wherefore of this situation and she smiled sheepishly at Ben
trying to control the sudden quivering of her bottom lip. The next thing
she knew she was enveloped in a hug. *Oh god I need this.* She squeezed
back, determined not to sob all over his smart red tunic. She stepped
slightly away from him as Ben introduced her to Ray who shook her hand
slightly bemusedly. After the brief introductions in which Ben described
her as "an old friend" Anna turned her attention back to the reason why
she was there. 

 "I brought you a present Ben." 

 " Oh well that's very kind of you Anna but there's no need, really." He
smiled at her in way that reminded her of better times, when she'd been a
little girl doted on by her brother and by him. 

 "Think of it as an apology. I certainly owe you one." Ben opened his
mouth to protest but Anna interrupted him before he got a chance to say a
word. 

 "If I feel I owe you an apology and if I will feel better by giving you
this gift surely it would be impolite to refuse, Ben." Anna gave him a
wicked grin as he started stuttering. 

 "Well I suppose if you put it that way... but really there is no need.
That is to say I'll accept the gift but there is no need.." 

 "Shut up Ben." 

 Ray stood behind Ben desperately tying to smother a giggle as Benny shut
his mouth with an audible snap. He was wondering who this young lady was
that she could elicit such a demonstration of affection from Ben AND stop
him mid ramble. Anna reached behind the desk and produced a large framed
photo. Ben accepted and stared at it in utter silence for a whole minute. 

 "I thought you might be missing the view." The smile Ben gave her made
Anna forget all the nervousness and tension. She turned to Ray and
explained. 

 "It's a photograph I took near Ben's father's cabin. Ben used to take me
up there to watch the sunrise when I was a little girl." 

 "You took it yourself ? It's really good, are you a photographer?" 

 "No, photography is just a hobby, I'm a Veterinary Surgeon." 

 "Really? You don't look..." 

 "Old enough?" She grinned at Ray and shrugged. "Lets just say I'm a
little older than I look. I haven't been qualified long though." She
turned to study Ben feeling uncertainty wash over her, nervous of his
response. 

 "Thank you Anna, its beautiful." 

 "Well I've got you a little something else as well. Sit down and close
your eyes I want you to taste something!" 

 "I knew it! I just knew tasting strange objects was a Canadian thing."
Ray was having problems keeping the smug expression off his face as Anna
reached for what looked like a cool box and spooned something out of it
and into Ben's mouth. 

 "Well then Benny is this something you've never tasted before. What is
it?" Ray was surprised to see that when Benny opened his eyes they looked
suspiciously damp. His reply to the question was even more surprising. 

 "Home." 

 "What?" 

 "It's snow from home. To be precise I think it is from the hill behind my
fathers cabin where Anna took that photo." Then he looked at Anna and
quietly, gently asked his question. 

 "Why?" 

 Anna hesitated before answering. She knew exactly what he was asking but
she didn't really want to explain. It was still painful and she was so
very ashamed even six years on. 

 "I do owe you an apology. I knew what Steve was doing for quite sometime
before he.., well..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "...
before. I should have told you, the police, someone, sooner. Then none of
what happened would have. I..." 

 "You were eighteen years old! What happened was not your fault. He was
your older brother and responsible for his own actions." Ben's response
was more vehement than she'd expected. Ray looked on helpless, completely
lost as to what the hell the two of them were talking about. This clearly
wasn't just some old friend from Benny's past. Ray felt a pang of
something too nebulous to define, that left him cold all over and studied
Anna and Ben more closely. Anna was talking now, sounding angry and sad. 

 "I knew exactly what I was doing! I fully understood the consequence of
my actions, or rather lack of them. You nearly died because of my
cowardice. Steve should have been stopped a long time before he got to the
point where..." 

 "Constable Fraser!" The voice behind them made everyone jump, but it
succeeded in breaking the tension. They turned to see Inspector Thatcher
looking angry. 

 "Yes ma'am?" 

 "You are late for guard duty! May I suggest you straighten your uniform,
bid your guests farewell, and attend to your duties." 

 "Yes, of course, my apologies sir!" The Inspector cast an angry glance at
the offending guests, turned on her heel and slammed the office door
resoundingly. 

 "Maybe I could visit you tonight Ben?" Now that they were finally talking
about this she may as well get the whole damn thing out in the open before
she chickened out again. 

 "Oh dear, well I'd love to but I have a prior engagement." 

 "It's all right Anna. Benny's having dinner with me and my family
tonight. Why don't you join us?" 

 "I couldn't possibly impose." 

 "Rubbish, I insist. Pick you up after your shift Benny. Now why don't you
let me give you a lift to wherever you need to go Anna." Ray was
determined to get to the bottom of this. Alarm bells were going off in his
head. *Once bitten, twice shy* he thought to himself as he ushered a
slightly startled Anna out of the Consulate, barely giving her a chance to
mutter good bye. 

 

 

 Shadows 

 Anna studied the infamous Buick Riviera briefly before climbing in. She
could well see why Ray had been mortified when Ben had made him blow up
the first one. It was obviously his pride and joy. After telling him where
she was staying they sat in companionable silence, Anna studying the
scenery of what was to be, hopefully, her new home for the next six
months. Ray, however, was far from feeling companionable. The nebulous
feelings he'd experienced earlier had refined into a sense of foreboding
that had settled in the pit of his stomach with a vice like grip. *I'm a
detective for god's sake! I'll ask some tactful leading questions, find
out what's going on. Stop history repeating itself.* 

 "So Anna, you known Ben long?" 

 "All my life." Ray sighed, she was hardly being communicative. He tried a
different tack. 

 "What brings you to Chicago then?" 

 "Well, as you know I'm a vet and there is a practice here that needs a
locum for six months. They have an interesting set-up there so I thought
I'd give it a try." 

 "It's a long way from Canada." 

 "Hmmm. But it should be quite an opportunity, apart from the small animal
practice they also work with the zoo here. I should get a chance to dabble
with the more exotic species!" 

 "THE ZOO?" 

 "Is there something wrong with the zoo?" Anna studied the Detective he
seemed a little... twitchy. 

 "No, nothing wrong with the zoo." *Unless of course your planning to
shoot a convicted bank robber there and blame it on my best friend. Then
we have a problem!* Out loud Ray said, "You must be glad of the
opportunity to see Benny again. When did you last see him?" 

 "Oh, it must be six years now. We've kept in contact by letters but it's
not the same. This should give us a chance to sort some things out."
*Great I've been avoiding the whole mess for the past six years and here I
am about to tell a practical stranger about the skeletons in my family
closet!* The whole day had been wearing and Anna just longed to curl up in
bed and not talk to anyone for a month. 

 Ray studied her more carefully. She was petite with shoulder length
blonde/brown hair. She looked about as threatening as a fluffy bunny in a
lion cage yet a whole squad of police sirens were going off in his head.
He made a sharp left noticing her grip the door as they swung across the
path of a truck. He acted as if nothing was wrong and continued his
questioning, prodding and poking looking for her to give something away. 

 "Detective Vecchio!" Anna shouted, interrupting his tirade of questions. 

 "Hey, what happened to Ray?" He grinned as disarmingly as possible. 

 *He really does have a sweet smile* Anna felt her anger at his cross
questioning fade away. "I was calling you Detective so that I could let
you know I was annoyed without being rude to you...Ray" 

 "Why are you annoyed?" The sweet, innocent good Italian son look was
plastered all over his face. Anna thought for a moment before answering.
Why would Ben's friend be so suspicious of her? It struck her in what
could only be described a flash of inspiration. *I really can be so obtuse
at times.* 

 "Why don't you get to the point and ask me if I have a criminal record, a
grudge against Ben or if I am, in any way, related to a certain Victoria
Metcalf?" 

 "Oh, and I thought I was being subtle." 

 "Ray you're about as subtle as a caribou in mating season." 

 "Sorry. So are you gonna tell me?" 

 "I am not going to walk into Ben's life and set him up for various crimes
he hasn't committed. Also I am not going to try and kill him, try and get
him killed or for that matter do any of those things to you. Satisfied? Oh
and I'll try not to get him shot or break his heart at the same time.
Happy?" 

 "Yep. So Ben told you all about what happened then?" 

 "Actually no. He mentioned in a letter that Victoria had been involved in
some crime in Chicago and during police efforts to apprehend her he was
mistakenly shot. I am actually quoting there so as you can gather he was
not entirely informative. A friend in the RCMP, Sergeant Mears, filled in
the blanks." 

 "I shot him." 

 "I know." 

 "He was running after the train she was escaping on, trying to stop her,
and he stepped in front of her just as I shot at her." 

 "Liar." Ray slammed his feet on the brakes, oblivious to the path of
destruction he had left in his wake, and stared at her. 

 "What did you say" 

 "I said you were lying. Ben wasn't trying to stop her, he was going with
her." 

 "You don't know that." 

 "I know Ben and the effect Victoria had on him. He got a second chance,
he would have taken it. I know what funny things people do for love."
*After all, look at all the stupid, dangerous things I've done for
particular #that# emotion.* "You don't think I shot him deliberately?" 

 "No. I know that Ben has a nasty habit of stepping in front of loaded
guns." *And its not the first time a friends shot him.* 

 "He does it all the time. Seems to think a profound Inuit story and his
Stetson will protect him from anything." Anna smiled at the thought of Ben
delivering Inuit stories to unsuspecting criminals. 

 "Now that we've sorted this out can we stop driving round the block? The
views becoming slightly monotonous." Ray grinned in response and pulled in
at her house. 

 

 Anna stretched out on the sofa considering the day so far. Ray was a nice
guy and obviously a good friend to Ben. He'd even given her an opportunity
to back out of the Vecchio family dinner, telling her how much they
shouted and argued. She was actually looking forward to it. Big family
dinners were not something she'd ever experienced but it would be good to
meet the family that had given Ben a sense of belonging. Her thoughts
turned back to Ray. He'd come in for coffee and they'd had a nice talk.
She was amazed that he was precisely as pictured from Ben's letters:
sarcastic, tough and underneath it all a caring, gentle man. He had also
been incredibly nosy about Steve. She'd told Ray that her brother and Ben
had been best friends and left it at that. Anna looked down at hands that
were shaking again. She could hardly have told Ray the truth, the truth
was something she and Ben had skirted around for the past six years. It
was a joke really. Benton Fraser was the closest thing she had to family
yet neither of them were ever honest with each other. They wrote long
letters to each other that seemed to leave out the important facts. Ben's
casual mention of Victoria was a prime example. *Of course I have been
just as economical with the truth in my own way.* Anna got up and headed
for the shower. Thinking about Steve was always a mistake. He still
managed to strike fear in her heart even from his icy grave. She let the
hot water sluice away the dark memories, watched the anger wash down the
drain. It was time to be honest. Steve may once have been a brother but he
had become a monster who had robbed and betrayed her. And what's more she
was relieved he was dead, it meant he couldn't hurt her anymore. 

 

 

 Mask 

 Benny was jumpy. There was no other word to explain his behaviour. He sat
in the passenger seat of the Riv fiddling. Ray was amazed. *Benny
fiddling?* He had watched Benny picking invisible specks of dirt off his
uniform, now the Mountie was working on his Stetson. Ray grinned. 

 "Anybody'd think you're going on a date Fraser!" 

 "I beg your pardon?" 

 "Well I mean look at you! You're fiddling. You can't be nervous about
dinner tonight, I mean I thought you'd got used to all the Vecchio family
togetherness!" 

 "I love having dinner at your house Ray. You're mother is a wonderful
cook." 

 "You didn't answer my question. Are you nervous about introducing Anna to
Frannie? I mean I know she can get a little jealous of any women you know.
Or any women you talk too, or look at for that matter, but still. I doubt
she'll resort to violence or anything, maybe a little verbal abuse but I'm
sure Anna will cope. 

 "I'll admit that I'm a little worried about tonight. I want everything to
go smoothly, Anna's a long way from home, I want her to feel welcome. To
be honest I am more concerned about Dief." 

 "Dief?" 

 "Well yes. He and Anna have never actually met. I've told him all about
her but still..." 

 "What?" 

 "He knows she's a veterinary surgeon." Benny's tone suggested that that
comment would be sufficient to explain all. 

 "And?" 

 "Well he has certain reservations about any members of that profession. I
mean it is perfectly understandable. They do give him his shots every year
and obviously they hurt and well... Also on the two occasions he had to
stay at the vets it was because he'd been shot. He seems to blame the vet
and has developed some kind of what I can only call a phobia. It's
irrational of him I know but there's just no reasoning with him. It's
another problem I've tried to work through but you know Dief, he's making
me pay and pay and pay!" 

 "It'll be fine, Benny. All Anna has to do is bribe him with some
disgusting sweet thing loaded with additives and he'll adore her for
ever." 

 "Ray! She's a qualified Veterinary Surgeon. She's hardly going to feed
Dief something so unsuitable to his dietary needs." Ray grinned as they
pulled up outside the small house Anna was renting. 

 "Me and Dief'll wait here. You can get Anna and give her some warning
that she'll have a hostile wolf as a dining companion." 

 

 Anna had forced herself to sit down. The carpet was beginning to look the
worse for wear after her continual pacing of the past half hour. All her
courage had vanished into thin air. Maybe they could pretend she hadn't
mentioned Steve, that way she wouldn't have to go through the painful
explanations and admissions of guilt. She looked up at the sound of a car
pulling up outside, took a deep calming breath and headed for the door. Of
course the calming breath didn't calm at all but it was a nice idea.
Fictional heroines always did that sort of thing before facing a character
from the past. *Oh for goodness sake! Get a grip on yourself girl. Open
the door.* 

 "Hi Ben." She hovered on the doorstep not sure if she should give him a
kiss on the cheek or not. Ben solved the problem by leaning forward,
giving her a quick peck and taking hold of her hand. 

 "Are you ready?" 

 "We need to talk. You don't even know why I'm here." 

 "Ray told me about the job. Let's have a nice meal at the Vecchios and
worry about the rest later. We've left it six years another few hours
won't hurt." She was surprised at his candidness. Perhaps all of Rays
outgoing honesty had rubbed off on him. 

 "There is someone in the car I want you to meet." 

 "Dief? I can't wait." 

 "Yes. Although I'm afraid he is not altogether looking forward to meeting
you. It's nothing personal you understand. I am afraid he's judging you on
your professional status." 

 "Ahh. The vet thing? Well I'm sure we can work through it." 

 "I hope so. Heaven knows I've tried." 

 Anna greeted Ray with a quick grin and dived into the back seat to meet
Dief. He was beautiful. She held her hand out to him and introduced
herself. The next thing she knew an incredibly heavy snow white wolf was
sitting on her lap lavishing great sloppy, doggy kisses on her. 

 "I'd say you're reservations were unfounded Ben." 

 "You haven't by any chance got sweets in your pocket or somethin Anna?" 

 "Why do you ask Ray?" 

 "The wolf's a fast food junkie with a sweet tooth." 

 "And there I was thinking it was my irresistible charm. Would you like to
visit me at work one day Dief? You can sit in the waiting room and
scrounge off all the people that come in. I'm sure the veterinary nurses
will adore you." 

 "Anna!" Ben sounded thoroughly horrified. "You of all people should know
not to encourage him. He's manipulating you." 

 "Well if he's clever enough to manipulate me then he deserves some
pampering, don't you Dief?" 

 Ben raised his eyes and shook is head. He gave up. It was a conspiracy,
Dief and the world against one lone Mountie. 

 

 

 Revelation 

 Dinner at the Vecchios" had been great if a little noisy. After half an
hour of Francescas" probing questions Ray had kicked her under the table
and after that she'd been sweetness and light. They were a good family and
so welcoming Anna had been overwhelmed at first. Mrs Vecchio had
 practically adopted her in the spot! Ray showing remarkable tact had left
Anna and Ben alone in the garden, giving them a chance to talk. It hadn't
been easy but it was worth it. For the first time in years Anna felt at
some kind of peace with her past. 

 Steve had been a good brother to her for many years. Never growing bored
of a little sister that was almost thirteen years younger than him. Anna
had only fond memories of that part of her childhood. There had been three
constants in her life: Mum, Steve and Ben. Ben and Steve had gone to
school together in Inuvik. Now that she was old enough she realised that
her family had probably given Ben a sense of belonging he didn't get from
his Grandparents. She'd been a broken hearted little girl when he left.
There was no one to talk to her 

 like a grown up or answer her unending questions of "But why?" As Anna
grew up Ben had written regularly and visited whenever he could. Even when
her and her family moved away from Inuvik. 

 Anna stretched out in her bed and giggled in remembrance. She'd been
sixteen and just finishing another boring day at school when Ben had
turned up out of the blue offering to take her home. The next day
practically ever girl in the school had been her best friend, wanting to
know who the blue eyed Mountie was! *And if Francesca Vecchio is anything
to judge by he still has that effect on half the female populace.* Life
had gone sour not long after that. Steve had become a different person,
unable to hold down a job, always shouting. Two months after her
seventeenth birthday Anna's mother had died. She'd suffered a massive
brain haemorrhage. Things went from bad to worse. Anna shivered in
remembrance. On her eighteenth birthday she'd taken the money her mother
had left in her will and moved out of what had been her home. Steve was
heavily into drugs and she had a hint of other shady business deals he was
involved in. Her apartment had been burgled five times and she knew it was
Steve, robbing to support a habit, his entire inheritance gone. She knew
of other crimes in the area where she lived that were undoubtedly his
doing, but being a good little sister she didn't tell the police. He was
her brother, her only family and she still loved him no matter what. Anna
felt restless and got up to get some hot milk. Telling Ben all this had
been the hardest thing she'd ever done. Steve had turned up at her
apartment one night. He'd become violent and wrecked the place. Anna got
frightened and called the police. She refused to press charges but the
police offered to keep him in custody until he'd cooled down. She'd
agreed. She'd gone back to her wrecked apartment and phoned Ben. He'd been
surprised to hear from her, even more surprised when she asked if his
father's cabin was free. Anna had been there on numerous occasions through
out her life. Fraser senior had liked her and let her use it when he
didn't need it. She packed her bags, stayed at a friends overnight and
left the next morning. After that the worst nightmare of her life had
begun... 

 

 "So Benny, did you get things sorted out with Anna?" Ray was driving
Benny home from the consulate. He wanted to know about this dark secret
Anna and Ben shared. 

 "Yes all sorted." Ben glanced across at his best friend. "Actually she
asked me to tell you all about it. She thinks you're worried her past." 

 "Well I did wonder. Are you going to tell me?" 

 "Yes. Why don't you come in? It's a long story" 

 

 Ray sat in silence listening in horror. No wonder Anna hadn't been very
forthcoming. 

 "I was worried about her so I took time off work and went out to the
cabin. She was sitting on the hill behind my fathers cabin just staring at
nothing. She wouldn't tell me what had happened, just that Steve and her
had an argument and he'd been put in custody overnight. Anna wanted to be
left alone but I couldn't leave her out there. She insisted on going for a
walk. When she didn't come back after two hours I went looking for her. I
tracked her towards a place called Hawk Cliff. Only she wasn't alone,
Steve was with her. He was intoxicated." Ben paused and studied his hands.
Ray noticed he was absently chewing on his bottom lip. He sighed before
continuing. "Steve, it seems, was involved in quite a crime ring. He
thought that Anna knew all about it and had told the police. He had become
violent." 

 "Did he hurt her?" 

 "Not seriously, she was shaken more than anything. Unfortunately he also
had a gun. He was sitting ten feet away from Anna, on the edge of the
cliff. Apparently Anna was just the bait for bigger prey." 

 "Which was?" 

 "Me." 

 "What?" 

 "Steve blamed me for everything that had gone wrong in his life. He felt
I had taken Anna away from him. My punishment was that he would kill Anna
and then me. I couldn't let him do that." 

 "Did you have your gun?" 

 "No. A lack of foresight on my part. I was off duty and had no idea that
the situation was so serious. He turned and shot at her." 

 "You didn't buy any chance step in front of the gun did ya Benny?" Ben
managed a faint smile. 

 "How did you guess? He shot me in the leg. Then... well the only way to
describe it is that he "lost it" as you might say. I think the reality of
what he had done suddenly hit him." 

 Ben sat there in silence. All that could be heard was Dief's gentle
panting from the corner. 

 "What happened Ben?" Ray's voice was quiet, concerned. 

 "He killed himself. His body was never recovered. Understandably Anna did
not take it very well." 

 "I'm sorry Benny. I don't understand why you and Anna have never
discussed 

 this. It's a pretty big issue to avoid." 

 "I felt guilty. I hadn't kept in touch as often as I should. After her
mother died I should have been there for her, should have realised
something was wrong. Anna hasn't talked about it because she was ashamed.
She had suspicions for quite sometime about how seriously involved in
criminal activities Steve was. She was ashamed she didn't report him to
the police earlier. Me getting shot, Steve dying, she blamed herself for
it all." 

 "And does she still blame herself?" 

 "No I don't think so. Anna realise that even though you love a person it
doesn't mean you can save them." 

 They sat, each involved in their own thoughts. Both their thoughts
turning to a woman with long dark hair who had nearly destroyed them both.


 

 

 Sphere 

 Anna sat behind the wheel of her car singing lustily at the top of her
voice. Every now and then Dief chipped in with a tuneful howl. She was
sure the other car drivers thought she was nuts but who cared? Life was
pretty good at the moment and she didn't mind who knew it. Coming to
Chicago had been the best decision she'd ever made. The Vet practice she
worked at was great and she got to do things as diverse as trimming a
Rhino's toenails to giving Chemo-therapy to someone's prize cat. 

 "Well I don't look good in no Armani suits No Gucci shoes - or designer
boots" 

 Anna laughed at the words. This was one of a favourite songs mainly
because it made her think of how very different Ben and Ray were. Although
she suspected if Ben ever were to wear an Armani suit he'd look pretty
good in it. Personally she preferred Ray in the Armani suits and Ben in
his uniform or casual jeans. In the two months she'd been in Chicago she
had spent plenty of time with the pair of them. Dinner at the Vecchios was
a weekly occurrence. Now that Francesca no longer saw her as a possible
rival, Anna was glad to go. Her and Ben took Dief for long walks together
and Ray regularly turned up at her house offering to cook dinner. They
were all spoiling her terribly. Ben and Ray even seemed guilty if they
were on a case and couldn't spend time with her. She wasn't about to
complain though. It was wonderful to feel so wanted and so important. Anna
pulled onto West Racine. Ben should be back from the consulate soon and he
was bound to have missed Dief's company. No matter how much Ben griped
about Diefenbaker's behaviour Anna knew he got lonely with out the wolf's
company. Dief came to the surgery with her every now and then. His fear of
the Vets seemed to have been overcome by the promise of the sweet sticky
things that they all fed him there. Today she'd had the afternoon off and
her and Dief had gone to the woods for a long, peaceful walk. Anna had
taken along her camera and got some great shots of Dief. She could add
them to stack of films waiting to be developed in her darkroom at home.
What with work and everything she hadn't had the time to develop them yet.
She felt guilty for neglecting a hobby that she was constantly being told
was a talent. Even Ray had been teasing her about the hundreds of photos
she'd taken that had never seen the light of day. Maybe this weekend she'd
get time. 

 "C'mon Dief lets get going. Oh and try to look a little less smug! Ben
always knows that you've been eating junk food when you look like that.
And don't take that attitude. You're not the one that gets into trouble.
If your not careful he won't let me take you to the surgery any more.
Hmph. Thought that'd change you're mind!" 

 

 Anna was sitting by the window with only a single lamp for illumination.
Ben entered his apartment quietly, not wanting to disturb her. 

 "Good day at work Ben?" 

 "Well not too bad. Ray and I have become involved in this rather
intriguing case..." Anna didn't seem to be listening and continued to
stare out of the window. Ben hobbled over to where she sat, sincerely
hoping she wouldn't notice his limp. It was just bruising he was sure but
Anna would want to know how he had become injured. The truth, that he'd
fallen off a moving vehicle, would annoy her even more than it had annoyed
Ray. "Is there something wrong Anna?" 

 "Hm? Oh, sorry Ben. I was just thinking that in four more months I'll be
going back home." 

 "You don't want to?" 

 "Yes and no. I miss my friends there. I miss the peace and quiet. But
somehow I think I'll miss being here even more." 

 "You could stay if you wanted." 

 "Possibly. Anyway I'm not going just yet." Anna changed the subject,
unwilling to dwell on such depressing thoughts. "I took Dief to the woods,
got some great shots of him." 

 "Thank you kindly. It should help work off all those calories from the
junk 

 food he undoubtedly ate this morning." Anna had the grace to look
slightly guilty. 

 "He just sits in the waiting room looking miserable and unloved. People
feed him treats to get rid of the mournful look on his face." 

 "I'm sure. That and the fact that if they don't feed him he drools all
over them. If you end up with elevated levels of cholesterol don't come
running to me, bucko!" 

 Anna studied Ben more carefully. He looked slightly... dishevelled.
Despite the heat of the apartment he was still wearing his great coat. 

 "What happened to you." 

 "What do you mean, Anna?" 

 "Nice try Ben. I doubt you could lie well, even if Inspector Thatcher
ordered you to." Ben stuttered and turned a delicate shade of pink. Anna
didn't soften one little bit. 

 "I'm waiting." Ben suppressed the urge to giggle. She was standing in
front of him, hand on hip, foot tapping. The effect was spoiled slightly
because he was nearly a foot taller than her and she had to look up at an
angle of approximately twenty degrees to meet his eyes. 

 "It was a simple mishap involving a moving vehicle, a concrete sidewalk
and me." 

 "You jumped onto a moving car and fell off. Again?" 

 "Er, well yes. Although I'm not sure that is quite how I'd put it. There
were mitigating circumstances and we did..." 

 "Enough. Lets have a look at the damage then." 

 "I'm fine, really." 

 "Yes, and I'm a monkeys uncle. Take off your coat." He did so
reluctantly. With an iron will Anna refrained from laughing at the state
of his uniform. The right sleeve of the brown jacket was shredded to
pieces, the uniform trousers covered in something distinctly distasteful. 

 "You should stop damaging Canadian property, what will the Dra..
Inspector say? Your arm's bleeding Ben." 

 "It's just a graze." 

 "Take your jacket off and that filthy shirt and let me have a proper look
at you." Ben started to protest. "Either I look at you or I'm frog
marching you down to the hospital. Understood?" Ben hastily removed said
items of clothing and stood in front of her in his white undershirt and
trousers. "You can sit down Ben. Just let me get my case." He seemed to
hesitate. "For God's sake Ben! I am a qualified Veterinary Surgeon. And
you know damn well that in an emergency I'm allowed to operate on humans.
And don't tell me this isn't an emergency." She turned back to face him,
he was sitting at the table with a broad grin plastered on his face.
"What's so funny?" 

 "It is just that I don't recall you being bossy when you were little." 

 "Hmm. Well no child is perfect." 

 "If only we had known we could have tried to correct the flaw in you're
character. I suppose it is to late now." 

 "Stop teasing me before I decide that cut on your arm needs stitches."
She gently took hold of his arm, probing the bones, asking him to bend it
this way and that. "At least it isn't broken. You must have cracked it
quite hard." Anna deftly cleaned the cut on his elbow and the grazes
running up his arm. "I think you might need stitches, Ben." He started to
protest. "Don't worry, I can't give you a local and I'm not that cruel. It
would be extremely painful without an anaesthetic. I'll just use some glue
and a few Butterfly plasters. I'll look at it tomorrow and if its not
closing you can go and get stitches at the hospital. You should try and
keep it elevated. Now what about your leg?" Ben sighed, he'd rather hoped
she hadn't noticed. 

 "It is just bruised." 

 "Well I won't embarrass you by making you drop your pants. Although it
would serve you right for constantly telling people you've seen me in
diapers." Ben turned a fetching shade of fuschia. Anna studied him more
closely. Deep grazes ran across the back of his arm and his undershirt was
spotted with blood on his back. "You'll have to take your undershirt off
or it's going to stick to your back when it scabs over." Ben obeyed and
she swabbed the grazes with disinfectant. Anna paused noticing the bullet
scar on his lower back. She touched it briefly before speaking. "You
should be more careful." 

 "Accidents happen." 

 "Best friends get trigger happy." Ben had suspected she knew exactly what
happened with Victoria, that comment resolved the issue once and for all. 

 "It WAS an accident. Ray didn't mean it." 

 "I know. I'm not glad you got shot Ben but I am glad you got stopped from
going with her." 

 "Oh." 

 "You should take better care of yourself. You mean an awful lot to many
people. And I'm not about to lose my best friend again." She reached out
and gently touched his cheek before turning away and busying herself
putting her medical kit away. "Shit! Look at the time. I'm on call in an
hour. I'd better get home and have something to eat. Knowing my luck the
polar bears will choose tonight to come down with the flu! Keep an eye on
that arm. You can have a warm bath as long as you don't get the dressing
wet." Ben saw her to the door, offering to walk her to the car. 

 "No thanks. I'm a big girl now." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek
to take the sting out of her words. "Goodnight Benton, see you tomorrow.
Bye Dief." Anna hurried down the steps before Ben had a chance to argue. 

 

 

 Descent 

 The day, or rather the past twenty four hours had not gone particularly
well for Anna. She'd been up most of the night helping to give an
emergency caesarean section to a lioness. Anna hadn't been on duty but the
senior vet needed a helper and it had been quite an experience.
Unfortunately they'd lost both the cubs although the mother should make a
good recovery. Then she'd had to take early morning surgery. To top it all
when she'd gone home there had been a letter waiting for her. Not a very
nice letter either. It had upset her so much she couldn't catch up on her
much need sleep. She'd briefly considered going to Ray's house but she
figured he'd still be in bed this early on his day off. Besides, good
friend as he was, she wasn't entirely sure she could cope with his bouncy
and noisy manner at the moment. Ben however would be soothing company and
there was no doubt he'd be up. *I'll probably end up searching the
neighbourhood for him, he's bound to be off rescuing some lost soul.*
Luckily Ben was in. Anna was relieved that he didn't bat an eyelid when
she turned up and asked if she could stay a while. Exhaustion finally got
the better of her and she fell asleep on the bed. It wasn't nearly as
uncomfortable as she expected... 

 

 "You're awake then? I was just going to take Dief for a walk before Ray
arrives. Would you care to join me?" 

 "Huh? Ray?" She couldn't seem to get her sleep befuddled brain into gear.


 "You've been a sleep most of the day. We are all meant to be going out
for dinner tonight, remember?" 

 "Damn! I can't go looking like this." 

 "We've got enough time to take Dief out and for you to go home and get
changed if you want." 

 "Yes I want. C'mon, let's get going maybe I'll wake up a bit." 

 Perhaps visiting Ben hadn't been such a good idea after all. His company
wasn't half as soothing as Anna had hoped. Trouble was he knew her too
well, knew when something was bothering her. He'd already told one Inuit
story about a man who was afraid to ask for help and she had a feeling he
wouldn't stop until she told him what was wrong. There was no doubt about
it, Benton Fraser was a master at finding out the truth. If he couldn't
get the direct approach to work he went for the indirect one. It usually
involved making you feel guilty. Anna was feeling guilty. She was also
getting angry. Her bad mood had rapidly deteriorated into a foul one by
the time they got back to Ben's apartment. 

 

 Ray didn't quite bounce up the stairs to Benny's apartment, but there was
a spring in his step. He'd found this new restaurant and he couldn't wait
to take the guys there to try it out. He stopped abruptly at the beginning
of the corridor to Benny's apartment. *Shouting? From Benny's place?* It
sounded like Anna's voice. *Wow! Benny made someone other than me lose
their temper.* This would make Ray's week. At last he wasn't the only
person who thought Benny was the worlds most annoying man. He headed for
the apartment. It might be time to intervene, Anna sounded like she was
about to throw something breakable. 

 "Hi guys." It was all Ray could do not to take a step back as Anna turned
blazing eyes on him. *Whoa* Something was not right here. Benny looked
worried and even a little upset. Anna was without a doubt furious. 

 "I told you Ben, nothing is wrong. And if there was I would not be
obliged to tell you. In case it has escaped your notice I am twenty five
years old now and perfectly capable of looking after myself." Ray couldn't
believe his ears, this person couldn't be Anna but it was. 

 "Anna, please." Ben bit his lip and looked at the ground briefly before
looking up again. Anna made a couple of hand movements and then spoke. 

 "I'm going for a walk. I need to clear my head. If you will excuse me,
Ray." Ray didn't miss the hurt look on Benny's face. He'd seen it before
after all. They'd been outside Zuko's house only that time he'd been the
cause of that look not Anna. 

 "Anna..." 

 "I said leave it Ben!" She walked out without looking back. 

 "What the hell is going on Benny? And what was all that hand gesturing
about?" 

 "I'm sure Anna is in trouble but she won't tell me what is wrong. She's
been acting strangely all day." 

 "And the hand gestures?" 

 "She was being... rude. I expect she didn't want you to know what she
said. That's why she used sign language." 

 "Huh?" 

 "Sign language. Anna's mother was a teacher for the deaf, I thought you
knew that." 

 "That's kind of beside the point don't you think Benny? You should go
after her, its late. She shouldn't be out in this neighbourhood alone." 

 "I doubt she'll listen to me." 

 "Yeah, well its worth a try." 

 

 Anna paced up and down the block. She felt a fool. She'd lost her temper
for no good reason. Ben had only been trying to help, to be a good friend.
And as Anna knew only to well friends were sometimes all you had. To be
honest she was inclined to think friends were better than family. After
all Ben had been a better brother than Steve ever had. She should go back
and apologise, there had been no reason to be so mean. 

 "Anna!" At the sound of Ben's voice she turned, her mouth open, ready to
ask forgiveness. 

 And then, there was nothing..... 

 

 

 Falling 

 No matter how hard she tried to ignore it, the insistent voice kept
impinging on her thoughts. She wondered why people couldn't just let a
girl sleep. Surely they knew she'd been working at the zoo all night.
There was something vaguely familiar about the voice. Familiar, yet
different. A tone of voice she hadn't heard before. It was quite
comforting really even though it was annoying. It kept asking her to open
her eyes, to wake up. *Why should I open my eyes? I'm tired.* Still, maybe
if she opened her eyes the voices would stop bothering her. Anna wondered
why she hadn't thought of that before. *Must be sleep deprivation.* It
seemed the hardest thing to do. When she did open her eyes she saw Ben.
She was relieved to be able to put a face to that insistent voice. She
looked a little closer at him. He didn't look like Ben at all. He was all
dirty and had a cut on his head. Something else about his appearance
bothered her briefly but the thought vanished before she could grasp it.
*Maybe Ben had jumped on that car and fallen off.* That must be why he
looked so scruffy. He really should be more careful. Anna carefully moved
her hand up to brush away the tears that were leaving clean streaks on
Ben's dirty face. *TEARS.* That was the strange thing about Ben, he was
crying. Why would Ben be crying? This was all so strange, it just didn't
make any sense. Maybe she should go back to sleep. 

 "Anna. Please stay awake. Don't go. Please don't go." 

 *Silly boy. Where would she be going?* She tried to tell Ben that he was
behaving all wrong, but the words just wouldn't come. All she managed to
say was his name. 

 "It's all right Anna, just hold on a little bit longer. The paramedics
will be here any minute. I'm here, so is Ray. You have to stay a little
longer, please." 

 She looked at the face that appeared next to Ben's. It was Ray and he
looked terribly worried. Maybe the paramedics were for Ben. That was it!
He must have been hurt by that car. A car. There had been a car. The
mystery finally solved she closed her eyes. The sirens of the police cars
and paramedics lulled her to sleep. 

 

 It was a dark and frightening place. The atmosphere was close and
uncomfortable making her feel like she was suffocating. It was like
crawling out of a pit, just when she thought she'd got there something
pushed her right back down again. But whenever it got to much for her he
was there. A bringer of light, who banished the shadows of fear and led
her home. She called out for help and always it was there. 

 Anna woke up suddenly. She was completely disorientated, with no idea
where she was. She glanced about nervously. There sitting next to her bed
was Ben. He held her hand firmly in his. He was slumped over, his head
resting at an uncomfortable angle on the bed. In another chair on the
other side of the bed Ray was similarly slumped. Briefly she wondered what
on earth was going on, but whatever it was she knew she was safe and so
she gave in to the exhaustion that rapidly overcame her. 

 

 "Hey Anna. How are you feeling?" 

 "To be honest I'm not really sure Ray. The doctor said I was run over. I
don't understand." 

 "What do you remember?" 

 "I was mean to Ben. Oh Ray I said some dreadful things. Do you think he
can forgive me?" 

 "Of course he will. After you were done shouting at him you left the
apartment. I sent him after you. It's a good job too. He got outside just
before you were knocked over. You had us all really worried there." 

 "Hmm. There is something your not mentioning. Did you catch the driver?"
Ray grinned at her. Anna had been seriously ill for five days. They'd all
feared 

 the worst. He was just glad those fears had been unfounded. 

 "All Canadians must have really hard heads! The doctor said you'd be a
bit confused after suffering such a head injury." 

 "Well my head is fine thanks." 

 "Well it wasn't before Anna. There was a real possibility that you might
have suffered brain damage. I was worried, we all were." 

 "Sorry. I'm still feeling a bit off. Everyone keeps telling me I got run
over by a car but from where I'm sitting it feels more like an armoured
truck mowed me down!" Ray sat down beside her. This was the part he hadn't
been looking forward to. He was relieved Benny was asleep in the waiting
room outside. He needed to discuss this with Anna, alone. 

 "It wasn't a simple hit and run." 

 "Oh" 

 "The car that ran you over didn't drive off after it hit you. It turned
round and tried to run you over again. While you were lying in the road."
Anna stayed silent, she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "If
Benny hadn't got to you first and dragged you out of the street you would
be dead." They were harsh words, but he needed her to understand the
seriousness of her situation. "I guess Benny was right when he asked you
if you were in some kind of trouble." She looked across at him sharply. 

 "What's that supposed to mean?" 

 "I went to your house. I found the letter you got. It seems a bit of a
coincidence you get a threatening, abusive letter the same day that
someone tries to kill you." 

 "The two are not connected." She avoided his gaze briefly and then turned
to face him. "Have you told Ben?" 

 "No. I kind of got the impression you didn't want him to know." 

 "It's just that sometimes he treats me like I'm still a little girl. It
annoys me." 

 "You've been independent and alone too long, Anna. That's not how Benny
treats you. He treats you the way he treats any one that he cares a great
deal about." 

 "I screwed up, didn't I?" 

 "Just a little. Now tell me about this letter. Have you had others?" 

 "Not since I've been in Chicago. I don't know how he found out my address
here. I had quite a few of them when I was in Canada. They are from an ex
boyfriend." 

 "You don't have much luck with the men in you're life, do you?" *oh well
done Ray, way to go. Why not put both your feet in your mouth and have
done with it?* "Sorry." 

 "Why? Your right. He was a scumbag. He lost his temper and hit me. I
dumped him and reported him to the police. Ever since then he's been a
 little...annoyed." 

 "And you don't think he did this to you?" 

 "Not his style. Would you tell Ben about all this, I'd rather not. I'm a
bit ashamed to be honest." 

 "Jeez, when will you two got your act together?" 

 "Huh?" 

 "Doesn't matter. I'll tell Benny but then you can apologise for being
horrible to him before. Go back to sleep for now. I'm gonna let Benny
sleep a while longer on those uncomfortable hospital chairs before we
start tracking down your ex and any one else I can think of. Do you mind
if we have a look at your house again? Now your awake I might be able to
prise Benny from your bedside. See if I can't put his wondrous Mountie
skills to work! 

 

 

 Grains of Sand 

 Ray studied his best friend carefully, cautious not to be too obvious. It
had been a tough few days for everyone, but Benny seemed to have taken it
the worst. When Ray had seen Anna lying on the ground his mind had just
gone blank. It was Benny at the train station all over again. But to Ray
the most frightening thing of all had been seeing Benny crying so openely
and uncontrollably. They had both kept a vigil at her bedside until they
were sure she'd be all right. Later, when Ray had told Benny about Anna's
ex boyfriend he had just narrowed his eyes briefly and grunted. Ray
thought he knew pretty much what was going on inside Benny's head. Of
course Benny was a complicated person. Just when you thought you knew him
he said or did something that meant you had to completely re-evaluate your
opinion of him. Benny was a much more open person than he had been when
he'd first come to Chicago. Ray knew that this was partly his doing, but
mostly it was Anna. In the three months she had been in Chicago she had
changed both their lives. Ray knew Benny wasn't the only person she'd
effected. It was all these damn Canadians, they were rubbing off on him.
He even said Thank You Kindly to Elaine without giving it a second
thought. 

 "Stop worrying about Anna, Benny. She'll be fine with Elaine to keep an
eye on her." 

 "I know. It was very kind of Elaine to offer to stay with her. Its just
that I don't want her to wake up without someone she knows there." Ray
nodded in agreement. Of course what Benny meant remained unsaid. Since
coming around after her accident Anna had had nightmares. Terrible
nightmares. 

 She woke up screaming to wake the dead. He had helped settle her back to
sleep on numerous occasions. Benny and he took turns at the hospital to
sit with her. They were the only people that seemed to be able to calm her
down after a nightmare. Although Ray admitted to himself that Benny did it
best. He figured it was because Benny had told her bedtime stories as a
little girl and made her feel safe. That and a little something else... 

 "Let's get going and look over her house then. As this ex boyfriend Niall
couldn't have been involved in trying to kill Anna we really need some
clues. It's time you put your Mountie nose and tastebuds to the test!" 

 "Ray, really. I do think you wholly overestimate the power of a human
beings sense of smell. Also, gratifying as your faith in my ability to
taste things is, I doubt It will solve this mystery." 

 "Yeah, well maybe, but I know your hoping it'll work too." 

 They went over the house with a fine tooth comb. It was only a hunch that
whoever tried to kill Anna would have actually been in her house but at
this stage any thing was worth a try. They had the make of the car that
ran Anna over but nothing else. No plates, no nothing. 

 "Where's left to look? Nothing here looks disturbed. No clues to
something Anna might have done that someone wants her dead for." 

 "The darkroom is all that is left." 

 They went through the room. Anna had obviously been busy. All her films
had been developed. Ray smiled at some of the shots. She really knew how
to capture who a person was in her pictures. There was a lovely one of
Elaine looking slightly mysterious. Ray nearly choked as he came across a
shot of The Dragon Lady. How the hell had Anna got that? She looked as
though she was concentrating hard on something, she also looked extremely
attractive. Benny passed over the shot without a second glance. Ray
wondered if perhaps Benny was actually doing as Meg Thatcher asked and
putting the whole train incident behind him. Inspector Thatcher really was
an interesting person. Despite what Ray said, he didn't really dislike
her. It was just the way she treated Benny he disliked. He didn't think
she was right for him. What Benny needed was someone to bring him out of
his shell, not push him in deeper. Ray caught a shot of himself next to
the Riv. Anna had captured his love of the car completely. 

 "There's nothing here Benny. We should get back to the hospital to
collect Anna. I'll doubt she'll thank us for making her stay there a
minute longer than necessary." 

 He headed for the car. Someone really should keep an eye on Anna. They
didn't have any real proof that the accident had been an attempt on her
life so there was no possibility of police protection. He briefly thought
about suggesting she stay at his place for a while, but quickly rejected
that idea. Anna need peace and quiet, not a Vecchio family bedlam. 

 "Maybe you should stay with Anna tonight, Benny. I've got a pile of cases
to get through before Welsh has my butt, otherwise I'd help." 

 "I doubt Anna will be very keen on the idea." 

 "I'm not asking her, I'm telling her. She's not being left alone until we
catch the creep that did this!" 

 Benny remained silent. He was as depressed as Ray was about the lack of
leads on the case. 

 "Ya know, Benny. Dief is looking really depressed." 

 "He is missing Anna. Or to be more precise all the junk food he gets when
he visits her at work. Although to be honest, I think that secretly he
also misses the long walks she gives him. Of course he'd never admit it.
He really is an ungrateful wolf." 

 Dief whined pitifully from the back seat of the Riv while ray tried to
hide his sudden fit of the giggles. 

 "My god Ray! That's it!" 

 Ray peeled himself off the dashboard where he'd landed after slamming on
the brakes. 

 "Damn it Benny. Don't to that to me! What's it?" 

 "Think about it Ray. Why would anyone want to kill Anna? Who could have a
possible motive?" 

 "Well, the ex, but we know its not him. What about someone who knew
Steve?" 

 "That was six years. Besides as far as anyone else is aware he killed
himself. No one knows about what happened at the cabin. No we are thinking
in the wrong direction. We know Anna too well, we are to close. Think of
her just as any other victim of crime, what do we know about her." 

 "O.K She's a veterinary surgeon. Which, no offence Benny, is not
something people usually kill for. Not unless she discovered the polar
bears were blackmailing the other zoo animals!" 

 "Ray, Ray, Ray!" 

 "Sorry. She's Canadian, again not usually something to kill because of,
although there have been times.... Anyway, she loves animals, is quite
good with people, doesn't have much luck with males, be they brothers or
boyfriends, and she loves to take photographs. In fact she takes brilliant
photographs." 

 "You see that is it! The most logical explanation. Someone tried to kill
Anna 

 because she'd taken a photograph of something she shouldn't have." 

 "Maybe... But she would have told us." 

 "Only if she'd realised. Do you remember about a week before Anna's
accident when I tried to stop the thieves from the electrical store?" 

 "You mean when you fell off a moving car, again?" 

 "Well, that is not entirely fair Ray. The results justified the means, we
did..." 

 "THE POINT BENNY. GET TO THE POINT!!" 

 "There really is no need to shout. Anna had Dief for the day. She told me
she'd taken him to the woods and got some wonderful photographs of him.
Where were those photos? They weren't in the darkroom, yet every single
other film she'd taken since being in Chicago was." 

 "But that would mean these people have the photos but still want Anna
dead. They must think she's seen something and knows about it. Not that
she just mistakenly photographed it! Damn!" 

 

 

 Mirror 

 "Anna, the shots you took of Dief in the woods, where are they?" 

 Anna looked up from the book she was reading in surprise as Ben and Ray
came charging into her hospital room. 

 "They are in my darkroom at home, all my photographs are, why?" 

 "Shit. They're not there anymore. We think you must have inadvertently
taken a photograph of something important. Something someone thinks it's
worth killing you for." 

 "Oh. Wait, do you mean the photos I took the day Ben fell off that car?" 

 "Anna, Benny falls off cars practically every day!" 

 "I mean the time when I patched him up." 

 "What?" 

 "Yes Anna, that's the occasion in question." 

 "I made a second contact sheet. In fact I also made an extra set of blow
ups. I wanted Ray to choose the best shot so we could give you a picture
of Dief for your birthday. I meant to give them to him the night I got run
over. The whole lot should still be in the trunk of my car." 

 "Anna you're not being left alone until we sort this out. Is that clear?
You're not even going to the bathroom alone, understood?" 

 

 It had been one of the longest twenty four hours of her life. Apparently
when she was in the woods with Dief she'd taken a photograph of some kind
of mobster meeting up with the boss of a rival mob. To be honest she
couldn't care less. She was just relieved to be safe. Ray had stopped a
mob war starting on the doorstep of the 27th and put some truly evil men
behind bars. That was all she needed to know. Of course there would be a
trial but her photographs should speak for themselves. Anna found it
rather ironic that the most annoying thing about the whole mess was that
the photographs in question were by far the best she got of Dief. That and
the fact that she'd nearly died. It made her cold all over thinking about
how the injuries to her brain could have been so serious that she never
would have woken up. She had been extremely lucky that the brain swelling
had gone down leaving no permanent damage. No permanent physical damage
anyway. Emotionally? The nightmares were dreadful. Or at least their after
effects were. She knew she woke up screaming, knew that on endless
occasions Ben or Ray had held her close, whispering soothing words,
chasing the darkness away. Now she was facing her first night at home
since the accident and she was petrified. They had gone out for a
celebratory meal, nothing too formal as she was supposed to be taking it
easy. Besides Ray had paper work to catch up on and Benny had an early
shift at the consulate in the morning. Inspector Thatcher's revenge for
all the time off he'd taken off to be with her. Although to be honest Meg
had been a great help in her own way. 

 Anna stretched out briefly. It really was time for bed. Ray had told her
that Ben was going to stay the night just in case. From the startled look
on Ben's face Anna gathered that she wasn't the only one Ray was bossing
around. She'd watched the scarlet blush consume Ben's face with
fascination before conceding to Ray. After all, she really didn't want to
be alone any way. Ben was reading quietly in the corner of the lounge. 

 "I'm going to turn in now Ben. Is there anything you need. Are you sure
the spare rooms is all right for you?." 

 "Thank You Kindly, but no. Your spare room will be just fine. Sweet
Dreams Anna." 

 *I sure hope they will be!" "Night Ben." 

 

 Shouting. There was shouting. And screaming. Who was that, what was going
on. As the panic started to rise she felt warm arms around her. A soothing
voice in her ear. With a jolt she realised that the shouting had been her
own, yet she had no recollection of what she'd said. 

 "Ben?" 

 "It is all right, Anna. Just a bad dream." 

 *Benton Fraser, always the master of understatement. Someone wakes him up
in the middle of the night screaming blue murder and "it is just a bad
dream."* "I'm sorry I woke you. I know you have to be at work early." 

 "It's not your fault. Try and get back to sleep, you are overtired." 

 Anna managed a weak grin. *Overtired! Made her sound like a fretful
toddler that wanted more candy.* Overtired or not she didn't want to go
back to sleep. To many dark images pushing at the edge of her memory. It
had been a hell of a lot more than a bad dream. Her trembling, sweaty body
proved that. 

 "I don't feel tired." 

 "Ah, well then perhaps I should tell you an Inuit story? Ray seems to
think they're a sure fire way to send anyone to sleep." 

 Anna couldn't help but giggle at Ben's humour. 

 "An Inuit story sounds perfect." 

 Ben settled on the edge of the bed. 

 "There was a bird named Swallow, and Swallow although small was powerful.
She had the power to soar high over mountains, to travel great distances.
Now Hawk was envious of Swallow...." 

 

 Anna woke slowly from a luxurious, relaxing sleep. She had no idea of
where she was or what time it was but she didn't care. She was safe. The
safest she had ever been in her whole life. Happy and safe. She began to
stretch and the arms around her tightened, pulling her closer. *ARMS?!*
She nearly fell out of bed in surprise. Ben was propped against the bed
head his arms wrapped around her. He looked terribly uncomfortable in that
position. Anna recalled the events of the night before. The nightmare, Ben
telling her an Inuit story. They must have both fallen asleep. She
wondered what time it was, hoping Ben wouldn't be late for work. It
couldn't be that late though, Ray was meant to be collecting Ben. 

 "Ben." 

 He muttered something unintelligible and then opened his eyes. She
recognised the look on his face. Something Frannie had said about a
squirrel trapped in the car head lights just before you squashed it came
to mind. 

 "I guess the Inuit story worked a little too well." 

 "Hmm. Won't Ray be pleased!" 

 "I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep." 

 Ben turned piercing blue eyes on her and smiled. 

 "I told you it is all right. It is not your fault. Why don't I make you
some breakfast?" 

 

 

 Eternity 

 Ray never did turn up to take Ben to work so Anna offered. Ben had
protested vehemently saying she wasn't up to it. She'd finally convinced
him by mentioning Inspector Thatcher, probation and transfer request in
the same sentence. Anyway it was nice to be out in the real world again.
She'd already decided to visit Ray at the precinct and take him out for
lunch. For some reason Anna thought Ben wouldn't be free for lunch for a
number of days, or even weeks, to come. 

 Ray had seemed surprised to see her at the precinct but he was eager to
go for lunch. Very eager. Too eager. Anna should have realised he was up
to something. 

 "So how are things with you and Benny." 

 "Fine." Anna noticed the smug grin on Ray's face. "What do you mean?" 

 "Oh nothing. Just that I came by to pick Benny up this morning." 

 "We never saw you!" 

 "I let myself in. Didn't want to disturb you. I thought you'd still be
asleep. You were. So, it seems was Benny." 

 "I don't... Ray what on earth do you mean? You can't think that Ben and
I..." 

 "No need to be coy Anna. I think its great and about time too." 

 "Ray that's not it at all." 

 "Yeah, sure. The two of you were lying in bed curled up in each others
arms because...?" 

 "I had a nightmare." 

 *Whoops! Put your foot in it again Ray.* 

 "I'm sorry. It's just that..." 

 "Your forgiven. I can't believe you thought that. You have a filthy mind
Ray Vecchio!" 

 "It's just..." 

 "Inspector Thatcher wouldn't by any chance be affecting your thought
processes would she?" 

 "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

 "I believe you, thousands wouldn't. Let's say that, for arguments sake,
you found Meg a rather intriguing and attractive personality. If Ben were
with someone you could, without trace of guilt, pursue her if you so
chose." 

 "Don't twist things." 

 "Ray, I know you're a good friend to Ben and wouldn't hurt him. I also
know that you secretly like Meg and want to get to know her better." 

 "Maybe." 

 "I still can't believe you'd think that me and Ben, you know..." 

 "Why not?" 

 "He's practically family and he's twelve years older than me. Besides,
can you imagine his reaction if I made a pass at him? He'd faint from
shock." 

 "None of those are reasons not to get together with him." 

 "You forget your ideas about me and Ben, I'll forget about you and Meg,
O.K? 

 "O.K. Still I think the two of you would make a lovely couple..." 

 "RAY!" 

 

 Anna sat at Ben's kitchen table staring at the cup of tea in her hand,
Ben was doing the same. Ever since that conversation with Ray at lunch
she'd been on edge. She didn't want to be here but she'd said when
dropping Ben off at work that she would pop round in the evening and see
him and Dief. The reason she didn't want to be here was that maybe Ray had
been right. Never once had she thought of Ben in that way, but now... As
Ben would say, "Oh dear". It had struck her like a bolt of lightning,
corny as it was. 

 "I liked it." 

 "Huh?" Anna dragged her errant mind back to the present. What did he
mean? 

 "This morning, I liked it." 

 "Oh!" she couldn't think of any thing else to say. 

 It wasn't the response Ben had expected. It was obvious she knew what he
meant, but that didn't really prove anything. He was surprised when she
spoke again. 

 "So did I." 

 "Oh." What did he say now. He'd told her because...., well just because.
He studied the tea mug in his hand in some detail. 

 "Ben, just because we both liked it, doesn't mean anything. We've both
been through a lot. It is bound to be nice waking up and knowing you're
not alone. We don't have to make a big thing about it." 

 "My feelings were more specific, Anna. I liked waking up to next to you."


 "Well, yes. But Ben we're such good friends, do you want to risk all that
for something that is a maybe?" 

 "I think we both need to be honest with each other." 

 "O.K then. I liked waking up and you being there. However if I had a
choice between waking up with you once or having you as my friend for the
rest of my life I know which I'd choose." 

 "I love you Anna, you mean the world to me." 

 "As do you. I love you dearly." 

 "You're not listening Anna. I am madly IN love with you. I woke up this
morning, saw you and realised. I have never felt like this before. Never.
I need you to be honest with me." 

 "Well, being totally honest, I'm in love with you too." 

 "You are?" 

 "Yes, completely and utterly." 

 "Oh! So why is there a problem?" 

 "I'm scared. I can't lose you." 

 "You won't. I love you and always will no matter what." 

 He gently reached across the table and took her hand in his. Anna felt
her stomach somersault the way it had the first time she'd seen him in
Chicago. She looked up into blue eyes that regarded her questioningly. She
smiled and touched Ben's cheek. Ray had been right. She'd get her own back
on him for this, but for now nothing else mattered. Lips pressed against
hers briefly and then she was enveloped in warm, loving arms. She hugged
back inhaling the scent that was so familiar yet unknown. Without a
moments doubt she gave up her soul to Ben. 

 

 Diefenbaker studied the two of them closely. He then padded over to Ben's
bed and jumped up settling himself in. He wanted first dibs, after all,
possession was nine tenths of the law... 

 Ray looked up at Ben's apartment building and smiled. He picked up his
cell phone and dialled a number. "Inspector Thatcher? Ray Vecchio here. I
thought I should tell you Benny won't be at work tomorrow. He's come down
with a flu virus. Yes of course I'm telling the truth! He's tucked up in
bed right now in fact. Actually I was wondering if I could meet you at the
consulate tomorrow. Yes it's important. It involves a Canadian citizen and
some very serious allegations. Ten a.m. then? Great, I'll see you then,
Meg..." 

 

 I saw eternity the other night Like a great ring of pure and endless
light, All calm, as it was bright, And round beneath it, Tome in hours,
days, years Driv'n by the spheres Like a vast shadow moved; in which the
world And all her train were hurled. 

 

 

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